Is this a little weird, auctioning vehicle w/different vin before it arrives? Toyota : Prius Toyota : Prius | eBay
The really bad part is he's pictured an Advanced model, but the buy-it-now price is more likely a Base model. Misleading advertising to say the least. Yet, it doesn't say what trim level is being auctioned. What a schmuck.
Basil Toyota is in Lockport, NY about an hour from me. I sent him the following: ================================================= Chris, Are you selling the Prius Plug-In on Ebay? Is it on the lot for me to test drive? Or when are you expecting it? If not, was it one of the Nov.17 Pre-Production Orders for a customer? Or was it ordered for your Dealership? Why is it more that the $32,000 MSRP? ================================================= Hopefully he'll reply.
Isn't this shaddy? Can a dealer scalp on new cars? On second thought they could as a line item on the final price for "Dealer Prep". Wonder what Toyota would say about it. From reading the add the "wrong" VIN implies that the dealer hasn't even got the car.
Dealers are entitled to sell to "walk-in's" ... so the auction may have ended due to that. Or - they do the cheese ball thing ... someone on ebay makes them an offer and the seller avoids paying ebay their sale commission. Seller only has 15 out of 18 transactions as ebay 'sales' ... and if you look @ the feedback .... some was re-written ... and there are a couple issues. That'd leave the seller with only 80% positive feedback, if you know how to read between the lines.
I have a related issue and would appreciate your thoughts/advice. I have a PIP coming next week (it will be my 3rd Prius) and recently learned that I will likely be moving in a few months to a place where I can't have a car. Would it make sense to still buy it and then sell it in a few months, either on ebay or craigslist? The good news is that my state waives sales tax for a plug-in, so I won't incur any costs other than the car. But I don't want to lose a few grand in depreciation when I sell it in a few months. I'm hoping that with the federal tax credit I could claim then I would at least break even, but not sure how to predict depreciation on a car like this. Of course, if I don't move it's all moot. But would appreciate your thoughts on the situation. Thanks!
I sent an email to the Ebay seller of the PIP, a Dealer an hour from me. To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Prius Plug-In on Ebay Chris, Are you selling the Prius Plug-In on Ebay? Is it on the lot for me to test drive? Or when are you expecting it? If not, was it one of the Nov.17 Pre-Production Orders for a customer? Or was it ordered for your Dealership? Why is it more that the $32,000 MSRP? Thanks, Ken Reasoner And he Replied. Tuesday, April 10, 2012 2:44 PM Ken, Yes I am the seller of the Prius Plug-In . They are vehicles that was allocated to us from Toyota, and were not special orders. The one that I had posted pictures on eBay of, is my track car. It will be in our rental fleet, and is available for test drive if it is not rented out. We are looking to have them on the lot by the end of April we are hoping! I am putting them on eBay if anyone would like to purchase before they hit the lot. It is not more than MSRP, I have it listed for MSRP costs. Since there will not be no discount. This region is only getting less than 4000 of these the majority is going to the west coast. Let me know if there is anything more I can answer for you
You're kidding, right? A car loses value immediately after being bought. See Depreciation Infographic: How Fast Does My New Car Lose Value? - Edmunds.com for a sample. A Prius would tend to keep its resale value more than other cars but it's not a winning proposition, financially. If you want the car for the time you will still be able to have it, that's something else again, of course. But as a financial investment it's probably not going to do great things for you. If you need wheels for that time I'd think about getting something already used. (I hear Prii are good. )
Ken, thanks for sending that and posting the reply. Although I've gone through Ebay rules of selling, and they prohibit selling intangible objects, or things that aren't there, I'm still not quite sure what they're doing is right. Shady, for sure. Bill
